Stress
Imagine living back in the hunter/gatherer days. The days where
your only real stress came from keeping you and your tribe alive. The only unknowns you had to deal with were questions along the lines of "where am I
going to hunt today?" or "I wonder if there are berries to pick over there?" Now
compare that to what we’re living with today. Sure, we don’t have it as
difficult from a survival perspective. However, we’ve gone from having a few massive questions per day to a having few equally massive questions (like where am I going to
pay rent/mortgage and how am I going to afford it) as well as thousands upon thousands
of smaller decisions to make each day. The smaller decisions are basically miniscule but it’s the quantity that ends up taking it's toll. Decision fatigue is actually a thing. Like one
decision of “what bank am I going to use?” turns into "I wonder if I should
use their website for online banking?", "Should I download their app?", "is it worth
it to pay the $1 fee for each e-transfer?", "is it secure?", etc. These
questions may not seem like a huge deal, but think of your brain as the computing
processor that it is. Each and every job no matter how miniscule, takes up some
processing time in your brain. Being inundated with choices, big or small, can
add up quickly. Now if all
these decisions are pretty easy and you really don’t have to dwell on them too
much, that’s great. But if they’re related to
something going wrong in your life or something that you really don’t want to acknowledge, that’s where stress comes in. The actual definition of mental stress is
when the mind resists what is. Simon Sinek says it best:
This is why it's so important to not pursue a career just for the money. It's estimated that the average adult makes 35,000 decisions each day. If that isn't stress, I don't know what is. The key is to put yourself in position where you'll get questions want. Sure, you'll still be inundated, but a good analogy to make would be weight lifting. Your muscles are put under intense stress but it's stress that you want. Stress that hurts you in the short term to make you stronger in the long term. Stress is unavoidable. However, we can partially control the type of stress that we're going to have to deal with. It's good practice to do everything in your power to make use of good stress to avoid bad stress.
There are two main stress relievers that I use. The first is mediation. Unlike a lot of people that meditate first thing in the morning or find some time during the day, I meditate to help myself fall asleep. I've been doing so every night for a couple years now with the Calm app. They have everything from guided meditation to bedtime stories (for kids and adults) to Master Classes which contain invaluable life lessons. They also have a daily guided meditation that has a different theme each day. These also have incredibly useful information on how to make your life better. You can pick it up in the Google Play Store or iTunes for a small yearly fee that is absolutely worth.
The second stress reliever that I try not to go a day without is exercise. I've stated in previous blogs that the benefits of exercise are plentiful. The main benefit here being that exercise burns cortisol, the hormone produced by the body under stress (such as anger, anxiety or fear). Cortisol inflames and eventually damages the organs. So, needless to say, exercise a critical ally in the battle against stress.
I have a career that demands a massive amount of time and will consume as much as you're willing to give it. For a long time, I used the excuse that I didn't have time to exercise or partake in any stress relieving activities. Then, in of the daily Calm sessions, Tamara Levitt introduced me to the concept of "Sharpen the Saw." Which in short, refers to a common analogy of a woodcutter who is sawing for several days and becoming less and less productive since the act of sawing dulls the blade. If he would just stop and take the time to sharpen his saw, he would improve his productivity, but...you guessed it, he says he doesn't have time because he has too much wood to saw. I realized that if I took the time to exercise and mediate, eat right and do everything else that would benefit my mind and body, I would be far more productive at work. I was right. My focus improved. I didn't feel nearly as stressed despite having the same workload.
Don't confuse motion with progress. Don't think "if I just keep working with this laser focus, I'll achieve my goals faster!" Think of your mind like a car. You wouldn't say "I can't stop for gas on this 20 hour drive, it'll take me longer to reach my destination if I do that!" So remember, the next time stress comes knocking at the door, you can open it with a smile on your face knowing that you've got nothing to worry about, because you've sharpened your saw.
There are two main stress relievers that I use. The first is mediation. Unlike a lot of people that meditate first thing in the morning or find some time during the day, I meditate to help myself fall asleep. I've been doing so every night for a couple years now with the Calm app. They have everything from guided meditation to bedtime stories (for kids and adults) to Master Classes which contain invaluable life lessons. They also have a daily guided meditation that has a different theme each day. These also have incredibly useful information on how to make your life better. You can pick it up in the Google Play Store or iTunes for a small yearly fee that is absolutely worth.
The second stress reliever that I try not to go a day without is exercise. I've stated in previous blogs that the benefits of exercise are plentiful. The main benefit here being that exercise burns cortisol, the hormone produced by the body under stress (such as anger, anxiety or fear). Cortisol inflames and eventually damages the organs. So, needless to say, exercise a critical ally in the battle against stress.
I have a career that demands a massive amount of time and will consume as much as you're willing to give it. For a long time, I used the excuse that I didn't have time to exercise or partake in any stress relieving activities. Then, in of the daily Calm sessions, Tamara Levitt introduced me to the concept of "Sharpen the Saw." Which in short, refers to a common analogy of a woodcutter who is sawing for several days and becoming less and less productive since the act of sawing dulls the blade. If he would just stop and take the time to sharpen his saw, he would improve his productivity, but...you guessed it, he says he doesn't have time because he has too much wood to saw. I realized that if I took the time to exercise and mediate, eat right and do everything else that would benefit my mind and body, I would be far more productive at work. I was right. My focus improved. I didn't feel nearly as stressed despite having the same workload.
Don't confuse motion with progress. Don't think "if I just keep working with this laser focus, I'll achieve my goals faster!" Think of your mind like a car. You wouldn't say "I can't stop for gas on this 20 hour drive, it'll take me longer to reach my destination if I do that!" So remember, the next time stress comes knocking at the door, you can open it with a smile on your face knowing that you've got nothing to worry about, because you've sharpened your saw.
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